Work feed device for woodworking tools



Dec. 29, 1953 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1950 Dec. 29, 1953 s. o.ARVIDSON 2,664,123

WORK FEED DEVICE FOR WOODWORKING TOOLS Filed March 25, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 29, 1953 WORK FEED DEVICE FOR WOODWORKINGTOOLS George 0. Arvidson, Rockford, Ill.

Application March 25, 1950, Serial No. 151,977

Claims.

This invention relates to a feed mechanism and more particularly to afeed mechanism for feeding wooden panels having a finished surface, orother fiat pieces of material, to circular saws, shapers, joiners,routers and the like.

In the furniture industry it is frequently necessary to cut panels tosize after the latter have been sanded, or otherwise finished, forpainting and varnishing. Present input feed mechanisms are notsatisfactory for this purpose since the latter are provided withmechanisms that indent the surface of the paneling as they feed thepanel to the saw. Such pieces of paneling have to be refinished which ofcourse is an expense. In order to eliminate the formation of marks onpanels, many operators prefer to feed the fin-: ished panels to the sawby hand rather than refinish the panel. Since many of the panels are ofshort length it is necessary that the operator gets his hands in closeproximity to the saw blade in trimming the panels to the desired width.Thi is quite hazardous and many operators are injured in this process.

hazardous occupation in the furniture industry. Also in some cases theoperator, in keeping his hands away from the saw, applies a lateralforce to the panel that cants or tilts it as it is being pushed throughthe saw so that the paneling is not cut to dimensions and must bediscarded.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel input feed mechanismfor feeding finished panels and the like to a saw blade thatfrictionally engages the panel at a plurality of spaced alignedpositions, that does not leave indentation marks or the like thereon,that applies a uniform feeding force to the panel on both sidesof thesaw blade as the panel is being fed to the saw so as to minimize cantingor tilting of the panel and resultant binding of the paneling with thesaw blade as it is fed thereto and that is satisfactory for feeding bothrelatively thin and thick pieces to the saw blade.

Another object is to provide an input feed mechanism of the abovecharacter that is simple, that requires a minimum of maintenance, thatis positive in its feed action, that provides for protection of theoperating personnel, that is adjustable to different speeds ofoperation, that is inexpensive, and that is compact.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational view ofthe support for the feed mechanism embodying the Feeding panels to thetrim saw is considered in general to be the most present invention withportions cut away to show the details of construction;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the housing for the friction members withportions of the housing cut away to show details of construction of thefr ction members and mounting means therefor;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFig. 2

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 ofFig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation View of the feed mechanism of the presentinvention which is associated with the support structure of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is shown embodied in a feedmechanism for feeding panels, having a fiinished surface, or a similarfiat workpiece across a table (not shown) in a substantially straightpath to a circular saw, a shaper. a joiner, a router, or the like (notshown). In general, the feed mechanism includes a plurality of spacedaligned friction members adapted to overlie the table on each side ofthe saw blade so as to be engageable with the top surface of the paneland means for progressively advancing the friction members past the sawblade to feed the panel thereto.

The friction members II are formed by friction cups mounted on theoutwardly facing side of flexible connectors or chains I2 ofconventional construction mounted to have portions [3 move alongsubstantially linear paths spaced above the table adjacent the saw bladewhile at the same time having the friction members H engageable with thepanel. As best seen in Fig. 5 the friction members II are preferably inthe form of cylindrical shaped members having a closed end l4. While thefriction members may be formed of any suitable resilient material theyare shown herein as being formed from relatively soft resilient rubberpivotally attached to the chains l2 so that the open end of the cupsface outwardly from the chains I2, the closed end is of each cup beingheld between a washer is received in the cavity ll of the friction cup Hand a flange I8 of a bracket I!) as by a bolt 2|. The brackets [9 aresecured to the chains i2.as by having the rivets 22, holding the linksof the chain together, extend through apertures in the brackets 19 tohold them in face to face relation with sides of the chains, it beingunderstood that the flanges l8 are offset with respect to the bracketsas shown so that'the friction cups ll are substantially centered withthe chain as shown in Fig. 5.

The chains 12 are spaced apart as shown in Figure 1 so as to straddlethe saw blade and each chain is supported by a drive sprocket 23 and twoidler sprockets 24 and 26. The drive sprockets 23 and idler sprockets 24and 26 are arranged in a generally triangular configuration as seen inFig. 2 with the drive sprockets forming the apex of the configurationand the idler sprockets being disposed below and at the sides of thedrive sprockets. The drive sprockets 23 are mounted on the end of adrive shaft 21 and the idler sprockets 24 and 26 are mounted on stubshafts 23 and 29 in parallel relation with the drive shaft 21. The driveshaft 21 extends through a tubular suport arm 3| and is mounted onsuitable bearings 32 and 33 retained at oppo site ends of the tubulararm 3|. The bearing 32 at shown in Fig. 4 is retained by a suitablebear- L ing retainer 34, received in the outer end of the tubular arm 3|and secured therein by a screw 36, and an end cap 31 secured to theretainer 34 as by screws 38. A lubricant seal 39 acts be tween the endcap 31 and the shaft 21 to prevent leakage of lubricant. The bearing 93(Fig. 1) at the opposite end of the tubular arm 3| is held in a bearingretainer 4|, secured in the opposite end of the tubular arm as by ascrew 42, and an end cap 43 secured to the bearing insert 4| as byscrews 44.

The stub shafts 28 and 29 are mounted in sleeve-like housings 48 and 41(Fig. 3) disposed below and at the sides of the tubular arm 3|. A splitcollar 48 mounted as seen in Fig. 3 is provided with downwardly inclinedbrackets 49 and for securing the housings 46 and 41 to the arm 3|. Theshaft 28 is mounted by spaced thrust bearings 52 and 53 suitablyretained at opposite ends or ing 46 in a conventional manner. A bushing51 supported by ribs 59 and 6| at opposite ends of the housing 49extends between the bearings 52 and 53. An end cap 62 closes one end ofthe housing while an end cap 63 having an aperture for the shaft closesthe opposite end of the housing 46. The idler shaft 29 is mounted in thehousing 41 in the same manner that the idler shaft 28 is mounted in thehousing 45.

The outer ends of the stub shafts 28 and 29 and the drive shaft 21 aremaintained in aligned relation by a suitable bearing support and spacer64. The latter includes a roller bearing 66 on the drive shaft androller bearings 61 and 68 on the idler shafts 2S and 29 arranged so thatthe inner race of each bearing is keyed to its re spective shaft and theouter race of the bearings 91 and 6B are suported by arms 69 and 1|which are attached to a hub portion supporting the outer race of theroller bearing 6| as best seen in Fig. 3. The inner drive sprocket 23,which is secured to a collar 12 on the shaft 21, is held in spacedrelation with the outer drive sprocket 23, secured to the inner race ofthe roller bearing 69, by sleeve spacers 14. The sprockets 23 are heldagainst axial movement by a spacer 16 (Fig. 4) acting between the collar12 and the end cap 31 and a nut 11 threaded on the outer end of theshaft 21. The idler sprockets 24 are mounted on the stub shaft 28 in asimilar manner with the inner sprocket 24 being bolted to a collar 18and the outer sprocket 24 being secured to the inner race of the rollerbearing 61. Spacers 19 maintain the sprockets in spaced relation. Thesprockets are held against axial movement by on the tubular arm 3| thehous- 4 the collar 54 and a nut 8| on the outer end of the shaft. Thesprockets 26 are mounted on the idler shaft 23 in a manner similar tothat described for mounting the sprockets 24 on the idler shaft 28including the spacers 19 and nut 8| on the outer end of the shaft 29.

Provision is made for guiding the portions I3 of the chains between thesprockets 24 and 26 so that the friction members follow along asubstantially linear path and are engageable uniformly with the surfaceof the panel to be fed to the saw blade. To accomplish this, rigidguides 83 are shaped to engage the side of each chain away from thefriction members H as shown in Fig. 2. The outer guide plate 39 ismounted on brackets 84 extending downwardly from the arms 49 and 5|. Thelower edge of the outer guide plate 83 is substantially flat and isshaped to pass between the links of the chain |2 as best seen in Fig. 5.The inner guide plate 83 is shaped to engage the inner chain |2 in asimilar manner and is secured to the tubular housing 3| by suitablebrackets 86 (see Figure '7).

The friction members H and chains :2 and the mounting therefor areenclosed in a suitable enclosure or housing 81 as shown in Fig. 2. Thehousing is supported by arms 89, 89 and 9| extending outwardly from thehousing 46, the tubular arm 3| and the housing 41 as seen in Fig. 2. Theenclosure is shaped so that it encases the chains l2 and mountingsprockets therefor and has an opening at the bottom permitting thefriction members H on the portion of the chain l3 to extend below thebottom edge of the enclosure so as to be frictionally engageable withthe panel. The housing forms a shield or guard that prevents accidentalcontact by an operator with the moving parts of the feed mechanism yetat the same time does not interfere with its operation.

To provide a compact counterbalanced unit the power means for drivingthe shaft 21 and in turn the friction members H is mounted on the end ofthe tubular arm opposite to that supporting the friction members I andmounting means therefor. Thus, as shown in Figure 1, the power meansincludes a motor 9 I, a speed reducing unit 92, the output speeds ofwhich may be varied in a conventional manner. The motor 9| is supportedon and projects outwardly from the speed reducing unit 92. The latter ismounted on a platform 93 overlying the arm 3| and secured thereto as bya bracket 94. The drive shaft 96 of the speed reducing unit 92 isprovided with a sprocket, not shown, in a housing 91 and drivinglyconnected to a sprocket 98 on the drive shaft 21 by a chain 99. Aremovable cover ||I| on the housing 91 permits access thereto formaintenance of the sprockets and chain.

Means is provided for adjusting the relative elevation and horizontalpos ion of the friction members for use with dinerent saw tables and toaccommodate different thicknesses and widths of panels. Thus, as shownin Figure l, the arm 3| is supported by a sleeve IE2 at the upper end ofa vertical column 193. The sleeve 32 formed with an axially extendingrecess for receiving a rack |-4 secured to the underside of the arm 3|and a pinion l-G'il attached to a rotary pin I66 having a squared endfor reception in a crank N35 for adjusting the arm 3| axially. A lockmechanism it? for locking the sleeve 19?! and the arm 3| in fixedrelation is provided at the top of the sleeve |G2 and includes anactuating member I98, see Fig. 6, extending through a horizontalpassageway 0 and having right and left hand threaded portions and asquared end for reception in the crank I05, Mounted on the threadedportions of the actuating member in the passageway I it are wedgingmembers H5 and I2!) arranged so that when the actuatin member I08 isrotated in one direction the wedging members i it and i253 engageopposite sides of the tubular member 3% to positively secure the latterin a desired adjusted position and when rotated in the oppositedirection the wedging members aremoved to a retracted position in whichthey are away from the tubular member so thatthe tubular member may bemoved relative to the sleeve. The vertical column or post I03 comprisesa lower tubular member or portion HI having a base H2 and an uppertubular member or portion I I3 telescopically received in the lowertubular portion l I I. A vertical screw H4 has its lower end received ina nut assembly I I6 secured in the lower tubular portion III as by ascrew II 'I and the upper end of the screw has a gear II8 mountedthereon shaped to mesh with a gear I I9 mounted on an actuating memberI2l having a squared outer end for reception in the crank I05. Asuitable lock mechanism I22, such as described for the lock mechanismIsl, is provided for locking the upper and lower tubular portions in adesired adjusted position and including an actuating member i213 havinga squared outer end for reception in the crank I05.

In the normal operation of the feed mechanism the length of the verticalcolumn I83 is adjusted with respect to the saw table so that thefriction members sup-ported by the portions I3 of the chains l2frictionally engage the panel to be sawed. and the arm 3| is adjusted sothat a chain 52 is on each side of the saw blades. When the drivesprockets 23 are rotated the chains I2 are caused to pass around theidler sprockets 24 and 2t and eifect movement of the friction members Iion the portions I3 of the chains progressively past the saw blade. Theguides 83 form a backing for the chains I2 and assure that the frictionmembers are urged into frictional engagement with the panel. As a resultof the frictional engagement between the friction members and the panelthe latter is caused to be fed to the blade at the same rate of movementas the friction members move past the saw blade.

Due to the fact that there is a relatively large number of alignedfriction members engaging the panel on both sides of the saw bladesufficient force is available for feeding relatively thick pieces orheavy pieces of paneling to the saw blade. This feed mechanism is soconstructed that a uniform pressure is applied to the panel on bothsides of the saw blade. The cups are so arranged and shaped that whilethey frictionally engage the panel they do not indent the surface of thepanel or otherwise mar the surface thereof. The enclosure 81 provides aguard for the operator and prevents accidental contact by him with thefeed mechanism. One advantage of this feed mechanism is that thefriction members can be caused to move into feeding engagement with thepanel at a substantial distance from the saw blade so that theoperator's hands are out of danger of contact with the saw blade at allstages of the panel feeding operation. This feed mechanism is simple,can be readily adjusted to accommodate different sizes and thicknessesof material. This construction may be made as a permanent attachment fora saw or may be made as a portable unit as disclosed herein so that itcan be used with any of a plurality of saws, The mounting of the motor9! and speed reducing unit 92 at one end of the arm for mounting thefriction members at the opposite end of the arm provides acounterbalanced construction.

Iclaim: I

1. In a saw feed mechanism for feeding a panel across a table to a sawblade, the combination of a vertical column, means for adjusting thelength of said column, a horizontal tubular arm, means for mounting saidarm on said column to have an end of the arm on each side of the column,means for moving said arm bodily transversely of the column, a shaftextending through said arm, spaced drive sprockets mounted on one end ofsaid shaft, stub shafts spaced below and at opposite sides of said drivesprockets, bearing members attached to said arm for supporting said stubshafts, spaced idler sprockets mounted on said stub shafts, spacedendless chains supported by said drive and idler sprockets, frictionmembers attached to said endless chains, guide means between said idlersprockets for guiding said friction members along a preselected pathinto engagement with the panel, a motor mounted on the opposite end ofsaid arm, a speed reduction unit driven by said motor and means forconnecting said speed reduction unit with the opposite end of the shaftto drive said endless chains to progressively advance the frictionmembers on said panel past the saw blade to feed the panel thereto.

2. In combination, a friction feed mechanism, a horizontally extendingsupport member, means for mounting said friction feed mechanism on oneend of said support member, a motor, a speed reduction unit, means forrigidly mounting said motor and speed reduction unit on the opposite endof said support member to extend from said opposite end of said supportmember towards the first-mentioned end thereof and to overlie saidmember and be spaced thereabove, driving mezns for interconnecting thespeed reduction unit and the friction drive mechanism, a sleeve forslidably receiving said horizontal support member, said support memberbeing movable'in said sleeve to a position in which said motor and speedreduction unit overlie said sleeve in vertical spaced relation thereto,means acting between seid sleeve and horizontal member for moving thelatter bodily horizontally to move said feed mechanism to a preselectedhorizontal position, a vertical column comprising an upper memberrigidly secured to said sleeve and a lower tubular member adapted totelescopically receive said upper member and means for adjusting therelative position of said upper member with said lower member to adjustthe vertical position of said friction feed mechanism.

3. In combination, a friction feed mechanism, a horizontally extendingsupport, means for mounting said friction feed mechanism on one end ofsaid support, a mounting bracket secured to the other end of saidsupport and including a mounting plate overlying said support member inspaced relation thereto and extending therefrom towards saidfirst-mentioned end of said support member, a motor, a speed reductionunit driven by said motor, means for mounting said motor and speedreduction unit on the mounting plate on said bracket to overlie saidhorizontal support in spaced relation thereabove, driving means forinterconnecting the speed reduction unit and the friction drivemechanism, a sleeve for slidably receiving said horizontal support,means acting between said sleeve and horizontal support for moving thelatter bodily horizontally to move said feed mechanism to a preselectedhorizontal position, a vertical column for supporting said feedmechanism comprising an upper member and a lower tubular member adaptedto telescopically receive said upper member, means securing said sleeveto said upper member with said mounting plate adapted to overlie theupper end of said upper member, and means for adjusting the relativeposition of said upper member with said lower member to adjust thevertical position of said friction feed mechanism.

4. In combination, a friction feed mechanism, a horizontally extendingsupport, means for mounting said friction feed mechanism on one end ofsaid support, a shaft extending through said support and connected tosaid feed mechanism, a motor drive unit, means for mounting said driveunit on the opposite end of said support to overlie said support, meansfor drivingl interconnecting the drive unit and the shaft, a housing forsaid last-mentioned means rigidly ecured on the opposite end of saidsupport, a sleeve for slidably receiving said horizontal support,manually operable means acting between said sleeve and support memberfor moving the latter bodily horizontally to move said feed mechanism toa preselected horizontal position, a vertical column for supporting saidfeed mechanism comprising an upper tubular member secured to said sleeveand a lower tubular member adapted to telescopically receive said uppermemher, and means mounted on said upper tubular member for adjusting therelative position of said upper tubular member with respect to the lowertubular member to vary the vertical position of said friction feedmechanism, said drive unit mounting means comprising a horizontallydisposed mounting plate secured to said housing and extending therefromin vertical spaced relation to said support member to overlie saidsleeve and the upper end of said upper tubular member, said motor driveunit being mounted on the upper face of said mounting plate.

5. In a saw feed mechanism for feeding a panel across a table to a sawblade, the combination of a horizontal tubular arm, means for mountingsaid arm in vertical spaced relation to the saw table, a drive shaftextending through said arm,

spaced drive sprockets mounted on one end of said drive shaft, stubshafts spaced below and on opposite sides of said drive sprockets,bearing members attached to said arm for supporting said stub shafts,spaced idler sprockets mounted on said stub shafts, spaced endlesschains supported on said drive and idler sprockets, a shaft supportmember including bearings on said drive shaft and each of said stubshafts spaced from said tubular arm and said bearing membersrespectively, and arms securing said bearing on said drive shaft to eachof said bearings on said stub shafts to maintain said bearings in fixedspaced relation, friction members attached to said endless chains, guidemeans between said idler sprockets for guiding said friction membersalong a preselected path into engagement with the panel, a motor mountedon the opposite end of said tubular arm, a speed reduction unit drivenby said motor and means for connecting said speed reduction unit withthe opposite end of the shaft to drive the endless chains toprogressively advance the friction members on said panel past the sawblade to feed the panel thereto.

GEORGE O. ARVIDSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 850,338 Bolton Apr. 16, 1907 1,529,806 Oettel Mar. 17, 19251,634,196 Jones June 28, 1927 1,756,296 Madsen Apr. 29, 1930 1,850,773Rueger Mar. 22, 1932 1,957,621 Styron May 8, 1934 2,022,288 Knapp Nov.26, 1935 2,266,847 Calpha et a1. Dec. 23, 1941 2,332,888 Bostwick et a1Oct. 26, 1943 2,374,429 Hayes et a1 Apr. 24, 1945 2,382,971 Brocco et alAug. 21, 1945 2,387,446 Herz Oct. 23, 1945 2,455,097 Scianna Nov. 30,1948 2,471,014 Trebert May 24, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date139,888 Switzerland July 16, 1930 421,506 Great Britain Dec. 21, 1934

